Should Apple fit Bluetooth as standard on all Macs?
It is impossible to buy a Mac froma re-seller compleate with Bluetooth as re-sellers do not stock BTO machines as a general rule. As Bluetooth cannot be added later except by using a USB thingy and loosing a USB port, I think it should be standard.
Comments
Originally posted by Addison
It is impossible to buy a Mac froma re-seller compleate with Bluetooth as re-sellers do not stock BTO machines as a general rule. As Bluetooth cannot be added later except by using a USB thingy and loosing a USB port, I think it should be standard.
Some resellers like smalldog.com do stock BTO machines.
It would be nice though if they just made it standard across the board as they did on Powerbooks.
ps - I checked and smalldog has quite a range of configs for iMacs at their site and many do include BT.
Originally posted by Addison
Try finding a re-seller with a G5-2.5 and Bluetooth - in G.B.
You got me there. I did not realize your location
If you have a Bluetooth phone which doesn't have a good calender then you are missing a wonderful facility. I have a Treo 600, and although it doesn't have Bluetooth yet it works really well with iSync and I will upgrade when it becomes available. With Bluetooth you can SMS from the desktop without even taking the phone out of your pocket. You really need to try it to realise how good it is. Then again Apple now sell a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse.
Originally posted by Addison
Well I would imagine that the marginal cost of adding Bluetooth to every machine would add $25 at the most to the price.
If you have a Bluetooth phone which doesn't have a good calender then you are missing a wonderful facility. I have a Treo 600, and although it doesn't have Bluetooth yet it works really well with iSync and I will upgrade when it becomes available. With Bluetooth you can SMS from the desktop without even taking the phone out of your pocket. You really need to try it to realise how good it is. Then again Apple now sell a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse.
I will be looking hard at the Treo Ace(or 650 whateva they call it). So then BT would be something I would like. I then would of course grab the BT but even at $25 it seems to be a little expensive to toss in right now. BT is going to be replaced within 5 years by better wireless tech that supports faster devices. Intel is working on Wireless USB so investing in BT right now might not be that lasting.
Wireless USB info
Originally posted by hmurchison
I will be looking hard at the Treo Ace(or 650 whateva they call it). So then BT would be something I would like. I then would of course grab the BT but even at $25 it seems to be a little expensive to toss in right now. BT is going to be replaced within 5 years by better wireless tech that supports faster devices. Intel is working on Wireless USB so investing in BT right now might not be that lasting.
Wireless USB info
Yup...wireless USB is coming and wireless Firewire is coming. Bluetooth is just something that will fade away in the next few years.
Originally posted by Addison
Try finding a re-seller with a G5-2.5 and Bluetooth - in G.B.
Resellers have their own AppleStore where they should be able to order CTO configurations for you.
That said, it's stupid that the only post purchase option is a USB adapter, the bluetooth adapter should be a user installable item.
Why should such a cheap upgrade be standard? (other than losing a usb port if you add it later)
Simple: The mac msytique is built on having a very high lowest common denominator - All macs do certain things:
We all have firewire and iPhoto, iTunes, iMovie, Rendezvous (now opentalk) we all have Mail, Addressbook, great OS, great security defaults and connectivity options. Most Mac models ship with a modestly good graphics card (no intel "extreme" integrated graphics in sight) even on the very low end.
Walking up to any Mac you just expect to be able to do really cool stuff even on a very low end model. The low end might get the job done a little slower, but the basic capability is at a very high level.
Consider how Bluetooth fits this pictue: there is little cooler than walking up to a mac and exchanging addresses/ files / Changing the song that is playing and syncing and accessing the internet, all without carrying cables around. You can do half that stuff withouth taking your phone out of your pocket! Being able to send a file from your ibook to a friend's desktop while doing no networking at all is a cool feeling! Imagine if you could do this with any mac from accross the room. "Of course all macs brought into a room together can exchange files, instant message and sync their calendars, can't pc's all do that too?" <--- should become the norm. It is a transformative feeling when you don't have to screw around with networking settings. That is what Rendezvous was all about, and Bluetooth makes it one step easier, and with far cheaper hardware.
It costs almost nothing, and all the little tricks of bluetooth add the little magic that makes macs so stand out. Also, being a standard would raise the value of each installation. That is the beauty of networking technologies! The more people have it, the more valuable having it becomes, because the more you can use it and the more folks you have to talk to! And since the genius of Apple these days is software and frameworks, think of the cool OS wide features that can be built in when you expect that every computer nearby can speak to each other seconds after being brought into a room.
Standard all the way, it is too cheap and too cool not to have it.
Maybe Apple is awaiting the devlopment of its own app (or OS extension) before including it as standard. Much like a lot of other technology before (Superdrive - iDVD, CD burner - iTunes, Firewire - iMovie). Look out for Bluetooth being standard on all macs when Tiger is released.
For anone who doesn't want it, Apple should include the option to BTO it off (like with the modem currently) to save some people the money.
But it should really be standard. As has been pointed out, it is too cheap not to for that integrative Apple cool factor.
(I have never used, and doubt I ever will use BT btw.)
It is incredibly cheap to add.
Yet...
It is pretty much useless for 99% of buyers.
Bluetooth doesn't currently fix a problem or address a need for most people. Rather, it is a 'neat' gadget for the PDA types and people who like to constantly fiddle with technology.
If all Macs have BT and Apple work closely with say... Motorola and Ericsson and Apple integrates support for automagic syncing into Tiger then suddenly everyone needs bluetooth. Just think about all those phones with cameras (which are getting better and better), hint->iPhoto [import from phone] and about Adressbook and iCal [Sync your life!].
Say no more.
first, we now need a lower-profile bluetooth dongle than what's been circulating recently. with the advent of the flat imac, and the potential for wall mounting, an after-market bluetooth module would need to sit more flush to the housing.
second, would someone PLEASE devise a way that a bluetooth module could have both a male and female port so you don't lose a port by using one?
of course, those two requests may be at odds with each other, but if i were s. jobs for a day, i'd tell them to make it so.
Originally posted by Backwards
Why do you people say that Bluetooth isn't needed for most customers? Thats like saying that Superdrives wheren't needed or that its enough with 640K of memory (remember that one?).
If all Macs have BT and Apple work closely with say... Motorola and Ericsson and Apple integrates support for automagic syncing into Tiger then suddenly everyone needs bluetooth. Just think about all those phones with cameras (which are getting better and better), hint->iPhoto [import from phone] and about Adressbook and iCal [Sync your life!].
Say no more.
It's the easy way out to assume that all new technology is useful enough to warrant adoption. WiFi is a technology that addresses a common need and is flourishing. Bluetooth is a technology in search of a problem to tackle. Those of us raining on the bluetooth parade aren't techno-phobic. Many of us are actually bluetooth toting gadget weenies.
It's not too common to hear people complaining about something that could be fixed by bluetooth. It also isn't common for tasks, which bluetooth could address, to take up very much time in someone's job or personal life.
So far, phones are the only pocket gadget needed/wanted by the vast majority of people. PDAs, outside of geek social circles, are only used by a few professions. These professional PDAs typically use something faster and longer range than bluetooth.
If people are really in need of a phone synching feature, these phones already have a built in wireless connection. This could be used to efficiently backup everyone's contacts to a webpage accessible through their service provider. Must be that there isn't a pent up demand for this feature. If someone has already lost their phone, re-keying in their contacts from paper backup generally takes less time than spent on purchasing a replacement.
Bluetooth is 'neat' but useful to very few other than gadget toting techno-weenies like us.